Marc Ó Cathasaigh (Waterford, Green Party) | Oireachtas source

I will give the Taoiseach a quick geography lesson. Kerry, Carlow, Wicklow, Dublin, Sligo and the Mourne Mountains are locations where firefighters were called out to tackle wildfires in the past couple of weeks. It is the time of year when we see a spate of upland burnings, even though the legal season ends on 1 March. There have been none, thankfully, so far in the Comeraghs in my county of Waterford.

I recognise and accept there is a distinction between the burning of agricultural waste and upland burning, but we are in a biodiversity crisis. In this context, every habitat matters. I have half an eye to the nature restoration loans coming down the tracks from Europe. Eoghan Daltun's Twitter account shows what our hills and mountains could and perhaps should be like. Is the necessary enforcement in place to make sure these restrictions are observed? Are fines being issued? Probably more important, are we moving quickly enough to make sure farmers are supported in moving to better land management practices in upland areas?

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